By way of reminder: so far 22 EU member states have signed up to ACTA, but several others, especially in Eastern Europe and as well as Germany, have decided against doing so. Today the EU Parliament received a petition signed by more than 2.4 million Internet users against ACTA. This did not come unexpectedly as the EU Parliament already announced on its website, yesterday that.

Europe against ACTA

We need CopyR reform not ACTA. ACTA Update II. Although ACTA is billed as a global treaty, there are only two participants that really matter: the US and the European Union.

If either of those dropped out, it would be completely ineffectual. I think the US is unlikely to do that, for two reasons. First, ACTA is essentially the US copyright industries' shopping list of measures that they would like to see forced on the rest of the world: it gives huge benefits to Hollywood and the recording industry, but little to anyone else. The second reason is that the US government is taking the line that ACTA is not a treaty, but an "executive agreement", which basically means that it can be pushed through without asking anyone's permission - not even the US Congress or Senate (which is pretty much what happened in the UK, of course.)

That implies attention is really focussed on what happens in Europe. That's pretty extraordinary, coming from someone who had a unique insight into what ACTA really means for citizens.

Will ACTA Be Killed in the EU?

An ACTA of war: Secret censor tool to shake up world wide web. Published time: January 24, 2012 17:40 Edited time: April 20, 2012 12:01 A demonstrator with ACTA stickers on his mouth takes part in a protest against Poland's government plans to sign international copyright agreement ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement), in front of the European Union office in Warsaw on January 24, 2012 (AFP Photo / JANEK SKARZYNSKI)

ACTA Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement ISP PolicingMax Farquar. After the huge online protests in the USA, against the extremist SOPA and PIPA internet copyright bills, the European Parliament has already started working on their global counterpart.

It’s called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. ACTA is yet another offensive against the sharing of culture on the Internet. ACTA is an agreement that has been secretly created by a small “club” of 39 like-minded countries. Including 27 members of the European Union, the United States and Japan. In a typically EU fashion, ACTA has been ‘negotiated’ instead of being democratically debated. ACTA will impose new criminal sanctions forcing Internet Service Providers to monitor and censor online communications.

Tip of the hat to George Silver for the heads up ;-)
EU Signs ACTA, But Treaty Remains in Doubt. The European Union Signed ACTA today – months after withholding its signature at the official signing ceremony in Japan.

But the political atmosphere in the EU remains very much in flux.

ACTA Rapporteur denonce ACTA mascarade

UK signs ACTA as activists urge resistance. The UK and 21 other European Union member states have signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, better known as ACTA.

The countries signed the treaty, which aims to harmonise copyright enforcement across much of the world, in Tokyo on Thursday. However, the signatures of the EU member states and the EU itself will count for nothing unless the European Parliament gives its approval to ACTA in June, and digital activists have urged citizens to lobby their MEPs against voting yes. Only five EU countries did not sign ACTA, which aims to harmonise copyright enforcement. Poland, which was one of the signatories, saw thousands demonstrate in the streets on Wednesday, protesting against the signing.

An EU diplomat also added his signature. Although ACTA is primarily concerned with the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR), its designation as a trade treaty meant it could be negotiated behind closed doors. Threat to freedom of speech? European Parliament vote.